It seems three monkey brains are better than one when it comes to performing simple tasks using only the power of thought.

Scientists at Duke University wired the brains of adult rhesus macaque monkeys to form a network, or "brainet," and observed them in their separate rooms as they were each given partial control over a virtual arm they could see on a screen.

When the animals worked together, they were able to synchronize their brain activity to guide the arm of an avatar, allowing them to reach for a virtual ball. Their reward was a small drink of juice.

One monkey acting alone could not move the arm in three dimensions, but three working together could control the 3D movements and reach the moving target.

The monkeys were connected only to a computer, but not one another.

However, in a second set of experiments, the team directly wired the brains of four rats together, and to a computer, to allow the animals to transmit neural brain activity to each other.

The team outfitted the animals with multi-electrode arrays in the motor and somatosensory (sense of touch) cortices to capture and transmit their brain activity.

Sunday, July 05, 2015

Despite its diminutive stature, the giant mouse lemur has the largest pair of testicles relative to its size among primates, according to a new study.

Researchers from the Oxford Brookes University, the Bristol Zoological Society and the German Primate Center discovered that the northern giant mouse lemur (Mirza zaza), which typically weighs a meager 11 ounces, owns disproportionately-sized genitals in comparison to its body mass.

When put into context in relation to an average-sized human, this means that a 177-pound gentleman would have a pair of testicles as big as decent-sized grapefruits.

In a study featured in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology, the researchers found that this lemur species is capable of reproducing all throughout the year. In fact, adult male lemurs often roam around the wild look for potential mating partners and try to copulate with as many females as possible.